Any game that features an item known as the ‘world’s smallest nuclear explosion’, and allows you to fire a sniper rifle attached to your head, shortly before hurtling off a tower block and landing using your infinite (and completely aerodynamically useless) ‘ribbon chute’ deserves a remake.
I am, of course, talking about Shiny Entertainment’s 1997 shooter MDK – a gloriously crazy title with a unique sense of humour that I know to be fondly remembered by many a 20-something gamer.
Kurt Hectic, lured to his boss’ space station ‘Jim Dandy’ by a promise of Hungarian goulash, is humanity’s last line of defence against the machinations of a brutal alien race known as ‘Streamriders’.
These thuggish aliens have invaded Earth in a number of massive ‘Minecrawlers’, and are merrily overrunning human cities and stripping the planet bare of its valuable natural resources.
Stuffed into Dr Fluke Hawkins’s innovative ‘coil suit’ (which is capable of repelling “bullets, bees, and small but very hard sticks”), Kurt is unceremoniously kicked out of the station to plummet to Earth, aiming to destroy each Minecrawler and redeem his batshit-crazy boss.
httpv://youtu.be/MiK016Ga_bs
And so does MDK begin. Alone on the decks of a vast, city-sized death machine, Kurt must use a combination of wacky physics, implausible gadgets, his arm /head mounted weapons and a snarky attitude to stop the alien menace – and so did gamers everywhere fell in love with MDK immediately.
There’s just something about MDK’s combination of over-the-top humour, solid platforming and tight shooting action that makes for a stand-out game. While tricky, MDK never steps over the line into irritation – the enemies are a delightful mix of idiot goons and dumb robots, and their one strength lies in numbers.
The third-person animation is still slick and mesmeric, even after 18 years, and I fondly remember running all over the place, merrily blasting enemies with Kurt’s unlimited-ammo chaingun, while also bouncing around using the game’s hilariously light physics system.
Literally a ‘head’ shot…
The characterisation of friend and foe is also excellent, with the chunky aliens just as likely to moon you as they are to shoot at you. This is especially true of the sniping sections, when Kurt mounts his implausibly lightweight sniper rifle on his head – the aliens are even more ugly/amusing close up, and taking them down with the selection of interesting rifle rounds on offer simply never got old.
As for the Minecrawlers, each is very different in aspect – varying from standard industrial to something akin to a five-year-old’s ballpit – and was a joy to explore… right before you blow it to shreds in an amusingly implemented ‘boss fight’.
httpv://youtu.be/op8QNc90A9k
Bring it back
So, with Shiny Entertainment long gone, who would be best placed to revive such a precious gaming memory?
A decent choice would be Rockstar, as Max Payne 3 (despite its sadly lacklustre sales) was a fantastically fun third-person shooter. I’m confident the company could bring back Kurt and his incredibly stupid way of fighting – and probably throw in a damn fun multiplayer mode at the same time. Plus, Rockstar’s sense of humour would be right at home with MDK’s madcap antics.
Alternatively, amid the latest trend for HD remakes, one may have slipped your notice – MDK 2 HD.
Yes, MDK had a sequel, and it was just as wacky as the first game in the series (although I’ll always prefer the first for its more single-minded approach). As a result – and following fairly good reviews – I’d hand over the rights to the original and best MDK to Overhaul Games (a division of Beamdog).
They did a decent job with the sequel, so why not give them a shot at the original? Granted it would be more of a tarting-up than a full reboot, but it’s better than nothing!
httpv://youtu.be/p4Sb9_ow_Xg
The post Retro Reboot: MDK appeared first on 6aming.
